The Devil’s Cage

Ed Wong was completely stunned there.

He looked at the [Memory Wiper] in his hand and then the empty tray on the bar counter, starting to believe what Kieran said because something similar did happen in the past.

A lot of unlucky bastards who ignored the operating guideline of [Memory Wiper] lost their memories.

Fortunately, one hour worth of memories wasn’t much. Unless one was really unlucky, the problem wasn’t that big.

Sigh.

Ed Wong sighed in his heart, holding on to the last bit of hope, he asked Kieran, “That surveillance camera…”

“If you can fix it for me, I’ll be grateful,” Kieran said with a smile.

“Forget about it,” Ed Wong shook his head and ultimately picked up [Memory Wiper] again. A Herder shouldn’t reveal their existence to normal people, or in other words, the dead or spirits should remain hidden. Those who knew the dead’s existence should keep the secret, hence why the [Memory Wiper] was invented.

“I…”

Ed Wong was trying to lure Kieran in with his words and then use [Memory Wiper] on him again, but when he opened his mouth, he saw a clean molotov cocktail appear in Kieran’s hand. The crystal clear bottle contained sticky, turbid liquid inside and it was shaking as it was placed on the bar counter, causing ripple on the surface of the liquid.

Ed Wong swallowed what he was going to say.

He had no confidence to dodge the molotov cocktail in such a close range should Kieran toss it at him, and one the molotov cocktail burst…

He liked to eat roasted meat, but it didn’t mean he would like to be roasted.

“I think…” Ed Wong tried to explain, but the next moment, what he saw caused his face to twitch and almost run for his life.

4 bottles of molotov cocktails were lined up on the bar counter in front of his eyes. Each bottle was wiped clean, the crystal clear bottle representing the meticulous crafting process and showing off their destructive power.

In addition to the bottle in Kieran’s hand, a total of 5 molotov cocktails appeared before Ed Wong’s eyes.

“Now, now, let’s talk! Let’s not let our impulses get the best of us!” Ed Wong said quickly and clearly.

If these molotov cocktails were in the hands of a common man, Ed Wong would be careful but not afraid, but now they were in the hands of someone who reached peak performance of a human being, Ed Wong tended to be vigilant and dared not underestimate any kind of outcome.

Any misstep or slip of mouth would cost him his life!

It’s like a child and an adult holding a knife pointing at him, the danger level was heaven and earth apart!

“I think there’s a little misunderstanding between us. It may be dangerous, but it’s not fatal!”

Ed Wong placed the [Memory Wiper] on the bar counter, stating that he meant no harm.

However, Kieran did not lower the bottle of molotov cocktail in his hand, looking at Ed Wong and said slowly, “Some things aren’t fatal, but it’s more important than life, like our memories. Am I right, Mr. Ed Wong?”

“Right, you are so right!” Ed Wong laughed awkwardly at the question.

Ed Wong never doubted the intellect of this young man before his eyes, similarly, he never believed an idiot could apprehend a serial killer.

“So, you owe me a great debt again,” Kieran said.

“Again?” Ed Wong was stunned, staring blankly at the empty tray.

He thought Kieran was talking about the food money.

“You thought I was referring to paying for the food with some useful information? No, it’s not that,” Kieran explained.

“Then why is it ‘again’?” Ed Wong was confused.

“I can get myself two things in one day: memories of my past that I recall and memories that I remember now. What you were trying to do was destroy both of them at once, so it’s ‘again’.” Kieran said seriously.

Are you kidding me?!

Ed Wong widened his eyes.

He wished that was just an after meal joke from Kieran, but the serious look on his face said otherwise. More importantly, the molotov cocktail in his hand, Kieran suddenly took out a lighter, ignited it and slowly moved closer to the fuse…

“Fine! I owe you two!” Ed Wong said loudly.

He could tell the young man before his eyes weren’t joking. If he did not agree, the ignited molotov cocktail would be thrown on his body.

Should that happen, the scene would instantly plunge into panic and chaos, and ultimately, Ed Wong would be the one suffering the consequences, because he was the one that made the mistake first.

One of the rules of being a Herder was a Herder had to stand for his mistake. Should he refuse to correct his mistake and lead to a bigger loss or conflict, the punishment would be even more severe than the initial one.

Ed Wong wouldn’t want to suffer the severe punishment because of some little things.

Although the situation at hand might seem cumbersome, it could definitely be solved.

“I know your father. We knew each other before the Dark Moon Treaty. After the treaty was signed on, your father wasn’t happy with the conditions, so he retreated to the mountains. You brothers arrived in Ai City because your father told you on his last breath to come to me for help, and your identity allows you to know a lot of secrets that others don’t know, understand?”

Ed Wong recalled the documents on the young man and his brothers with his eyes closed and explained quickly.

“Em,” Kieran nodded.

Ed Wong smiled at the nod. He liked to talk with smart people, like Kieran. Kieran could understand what he was talking about without further explanation and he did not interrupt him to ask what the ‘Dark Moon Treaty’ was or something like that.

“Although altering your identity is a cumbersome matter, as your senior, what can I say? Call me uncle, come on, it’s been a while since I have seen some juniors.”

Ed Wong took a deep breath and looked at Kieran in anticipation.

Then..

He saw the lighter in Kieran’s hand move towards the molotov cocktail. Ed Wong’s face turned green that instant.

“Wait! Hold on! Your father must have told you to call me Ed Wong instead of uncle when we meet! You must remember that!” Ed Wong explained quickly and clearly again.

“Em,” Kieran nodded and killed the fire from the lighter.

Phew!

Ed Wong heaved a long breath, feeling like he had escaped death a few times in one piece.

The young man before his eyes really wanted to ignite the molotov cocktail.

Ed Wong was confident that if he did not submit, he would die with the young man.

Family eh…

His family is off limits?

Ed Wong looked at the cold Kieran and pondered upon Kieran’s personality. Kieran returned the gaze quietly.

Kieran had quite the experience in dealing with this kind of insatiable bastard who reached for a yard after getting an inch: if he wanted to more, punch him and kick him, state his stand clearly before things get muddy. Should he hold a grievance, give him two more kicks just to vent out anger.

No need to worry about him getting hurt, since such an insatiable bastard had such a thick face, the meat on his body should be thicker. Two more kicks would be fine.

Both of them looked at each other in silence for 3 seconds before Ed Wong spoke.

“What do you want to know?”

He didn’t say anything like ‘I can only answer three questions’ or something similar.

Since he had experience about what could go down with Kieran, such words weren’t necessary.

The more Kieran knew, the more authentic his identity would be.

And Ed Wong?

He would be further away from punishment, yet his heart felt extremely unwilling.

‘Did I forget something important? What could it be?’

Doubt in his heart, Ed Wong looked at Kieran and asked instinctively, “How much for the food here?”

“Roasted rabbit 1000, fried rice 150, chicken soup 100, service charge 10% and you’ve paid it.” Kieran said without any expression on his face.

“So expensive, but worth my money!”

Ed Wong nodded as the taste lingered in his mouth, he then pulled the topic back.

“Ask away, ask whatever that’s troubling you, I’ll answer everything.”

“Everything that troubles me since I arrived in Ai city,” Kieran asked without being courteous.

“What you’ve encountered isn’t the first in the city, a lot of people encountered it before but all of them forgot about it—like what your father said, this world is much more complicated and mysterious than it looks. There’s a world for the commoners and there’s another for our kind, a world where life and death are intertwined and interconnected. In this other world, the line between life and death is blurred out and the conflicts between the living and dead are endless. Greed, hatred, disgust, rage, ruthlessness, and unwillingness will always make things worse and our existence is to change this bad ending into something people can accept,” Ed Wong said.

“Is this the reason the dead come back?” Kieran asked.

“A part of it. Based on our studies, those ghosts will come back based on their strong feelings but there are some minority that comes back under special circumstances—you don’t need to know about the details because the details should be off limits to your father,” Ed Wong reminded Kieran about his stand.

“Will they be attracted to the presence of being freed?” Kieran nodded and continued.

“Yes they will. The ‘faraway’ presence had quite the attraction to them, it’s like their second instinct but some use it for their hunting purpose. Each time the ‘faraway’ presence appears, it will linger around three days and it’s a celebration for those bastards.”

“So next time when you decide to send those guys far away, try to go to a less populated place. If you can’t, remember to use the coin.”

Ed Wong placed a copper coin on the bar counter.

The copper coin was an intact one, there was no hole in the middle and had an emblem of a sun on top. Kieran picked it up and saw a moon emblem on the other side.

[Name: Crossing Copper Coin]

[Type: ETC]

[Rarity: Magic]

[Attack: None]

[Defense: None]

[Attribute: Cover the presence of souls leaving for the ‘faraway’ land.]

[Effect: None]

[Prerequisite: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: No]

[Remark: Crossing Coin appears much earlier than the Herders. No one knew why it was created but after covering the presence of souls leaving for the ‘faraway’ land, it has become the common currency for the Herders and the mystical side.]

…

Kieran squinted his eyes at the copper coin.

It wasn’t because of the description but because when he picked the coin up, the 5 Origin Forces in his body became lively.

With the liveliness running in his body, he clearly felt that there was a dash of pure energy in [Crossing Copper Coin], the pure energy very similar to energy when the dead left for the ‘faraway’ land.

Kieran subtly pushed the copper coin back to Ed Wong.

“Keep it. This is the only valuable item that your father left for you brothers. You can use it to help you overcome the difficulties at hand,” Ed Wong gave an unwilling look at [Crossing Copper Coin] and said to Kieran.

“Thanks.”

Kieran said his thanks before he brought over the money box, taking out half of the money inside and placing it in front of Ed Wong.

“Roye and I still have to make a living, this is what I can offer you now. As for the rest, I’ll make it up to you,” said Kieran.

“What a weird fella. Forget it, consider it paying my debt,” Ed Wong said casually.

“No, that’s that, this is this,” Kieran shook his head.

A debt of favour wasn’t something that could be repaid easily!

A stingy ghost didn’t like to owe people a debt, neither did he like to be taken advantage of.

Ed Wong saw that decisive gaze from Kieran, he sighed and took the money.

Owing a debt to a person like Kieran could be considered unfortunate!

“What else do you want to ask?” Ed Wong continued.

“Those ghosts that devoured human’s soul, will they become stronger?” Kieran asked the question that interested him the most.

“Of course, but the soul must fit their ‘standard’. The ‘standard’ varies, like the earlier one requires a beautiful body,” Ed Wong answered honestly.

“I see,” Kieran nodded in realization and then looked at Ed Wong again.

This time, his gaze was a little different.

It felt like there was a dagger hidden in between the gaze, it was unknowingly pressuring.

Ed Wong shrunk his neck out of instinct and a bad feeling rose in his heart.

At the next moment, the bad feeling realized itself.

“You are chasing that body slicing ghost? How did you deal with him? Like me? Or… Do you have some special weapons?”

Each word that Kieran spoke, it hammered Ed Wong’s heart deeper and when he finished, Ed Wong’s heart almost got hammered out of his body.

His pursuit mission should have ended smoothly, yet it was completely messed up.

Although speaking from a certain angle, his pursuit mission was considered a success. That aside, he would rather fail his mission temporarily than getting involved with the young man.

A standard-issued weapon was incomparable to [Crossing Copper Coin], let alone the other unique ones.

Once he thought about the values of the weapons, Ed Wong felt like vomiting blood.

“This is robbing or cheating!” Ed Wong almost screamed his lungs out.

“No, is equivalent exchange, you owed me two big debts after all,” Kieran posed a V-sign with his fingers.

Ed Wong felt weak on the stool.

He wanted to argue and refute but before he spoke, he saw Kieran with his molotov cocktail again. This time, Kieran lit up the cloth on the bottle!